Key actuated bolt lock

ABSTRACT

A nonrotating key actuated bolt lock having a spring biased bolt member slidably mounted within a housing. One end of the bolt member is adapted to receive a key, while the opposite end functions as a locking plunger. At least one tumbler is positioned within the key receiving end of the bolt member and is tripped by the insertion of the key therein.

United States Patent 1191 Schmidt 1111 3,744,283 [4 1 July 10,1973

1 1 KEY ACTUATED BOLT LOCK [75] Inventor: Joseph J. Schmidt, Los Angeles,

Calif.

[73] Assignee: Builders Brass Works Corporation,

Los Angeles, Calif.

22 Filed: Dec. 27, 1971 211 Appl. No.: 212,135

[52] US. Cl 70/90, 70/141, 70/361, 292/179 [51] Int. Cl E051) 65/08, E05b 29/04 [58] Field of Search 70/90, 95, 100, 36 D, 70/361, 345, 387; 292/179, 181; 70/141, 156

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1913 Resch 70/100 9/1916 Anderson 2/1920 Krafka 11/1929 Carpenter....

Schoorel 70/95 2,098,189 1l/1937 Kistner 70/90 2,656,704 10/1953 Mancuso.... 3,082,617 3/1963 Kerman 3,340,709 9/1967 Callahan 70/ 209 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 196,073 3/1908 Germany 70/141 1,167,217 4/1964 Germany ..70/361 Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. Att0rneyCharles G. Lyon et a1.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A nonrotating key actuated bolt lock having a spring biased bolt member slidably mounted within a housing. One end of the bolt member is adapted to receive a key, while the opposite end functions as a locking plunger. At least one tumbler is positioned within the key receiving end of the bolt member and is tripped by the insertion of the key therein.

12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures KEY ACTUATED BOLT LOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is often said that a lock is little deterrent to the experienced professional burglar. While this may be quite true, a lock is nevertheless a great protector against unwanted entry by those less skilled. Quite often the mere presence will dissuade such a potential thief from illegally entering a home or opening a drawer or container for fear the noise resulting from the breaking will arouse unwanted attention. This type of law breaker, who is quite common, realizes that he cannot pick the lock and to get past it requires force or other breaking. Rather than risk detection, such a person will leave, searching for other unlocked premises or containers. Herein lies the great value of locks, and, of course, the more formidable the appearance of the lock, the greater the deterrent. However, too often such formidable appearing locks are either too expensive or too troublesome to install.

It is therefore the principal object of this invention to provide a key actuated bolt lock which is formidable in appearance and economical to manufacture.

It is another object of this invention to provide a bolt lock which is key actuated but does not require rotation of the key.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly, the lock of the present invention contains a spring biased bolt member slidably mounted within a housing and at least one tumbler adapted to be tripped by the insertion of the key in the rearward end of the bolt member. Upon inserting the key and tripping the tumbler, the bolt member retracts to an unlocked position.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a plan view showing a pair of the bolt locks of the present invention locking a closed window.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bolt lock and a bolt member receiving piece such as a window sill.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the bolt lock with a key therein taken along lines 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the bolt lock taken along lines 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the bolt lock taken along line 55 in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the bolt lock as seen from line 33 in FIG. 2 with the key fully inserted.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the bolt lock taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the bolt lock showing the bolt in the retracted position.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the bolt lock 10 is comprised of a housing 12 which has an interior chamber 14 therein adapted to hold an actuating spring 16 and bolt member 18. The housing has apertures 19 therein for attaching the housing to the object to be locked. Chamber 14 has a large open end 20 and a 'semiclosed end defined by a wall 22 with an aperture 24 therein. Bolt member 18 has an enlarged rear portion 26 adapted for linear movement within chamber 14 and a smaller plunger portion 28 extending from the enlarged rear portion 26 and through aperture 24 in wall 22, as shown in FIGS. 6-8. The actuating spring 16 is positioned about the plunger portion 28 of the bolt member 18 and between the enlarged rear portion 26 of the bolt member and end wall 22 of housing 12 and tends to urge the bolt member from housing 12 through open end 20, as shown in FIG. 8.

The enlarged rear portion 26 of bolt member 18 has a first slot 30 therein adapted to hold a tumbler 32 and a pair of tumbler biasing springs 34. As can best be seen from FIG. 5, slot 30 has a rectangular portion 36 and a pair of cylindrical portions 38, one of the cylindrical portions being positioned on each side of the rectangular portion. The rectangular portion 36 of slot 30 extends through the enlarged rear portion of bolt member 18, while the cylindrical portions extend only about half way through the bolt members, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. A tumbler biasing spring 34 is positioned in each cylindrical portion 38 of slot 30. A tumbler 32 is positioned within the rectangular portion of slot 30 and is adapted for linear movement therein. Tumbler 32 has a slot 40 extending therethrough and running parallel to slot 30 with the tumbler positioned therein. The tumbler also has stops 42 thereon which abut the tumbler biasing spring 34 thereby restricting the movement of tumbler 32 within slot 30 and urging the upper portion 44 of tumbler 32 out of slot 30.

In addition to slot 30 the enlarged rear portion 26 of bolt member 18 has a channel 46 therein. Channel 46 is adapted for the passage of a key 48 therethrough and is perpendicular to and communicates with slot 30. The walls of channel 46 may have one or more ribs 49 therein which would correspond with the grooves 50 on the key 48 and prevent entry of non matching keys.

Housing 12 has a recessed portion 52 in a wall of the interior chamber 14. The recess portion is comprised of a first groove 54 terminating with a stop or wall 56, a flat surface 58, an angled camming surface 60, and a larger second groove 62 terminating in a second stop or wall 64. In the retracted or unlocked position, shown in FIG. 8, the bolt member 18 is biased to the rear of the housing 12 by actuator spring 16 and the tumbler 32 is urged against wall 64 thereby holding the bolt member 18 within chamber 14. When the bolt member is pushed forward, the tumbler moves out of groove 62, along the recessed surfaces 60 and 58 and into groove 54. The tumbler is then urged against wall 56 by the actuating spring 16 thereby holding the tumbler within the groove 54 and locking the bolt member in the extended or locked position. To return the bolt member to the retracted position, the key 48 is inserted into channel 46. Key 48 has a camming surface 66 on the front end thereof. Upon the insertion of the key, the camming surface 66 abuts tumbler 32, as shown in FIG. 3, and as the key is pushed forward and passes through slot 40 in the tumbler 32, the tumbler moves along the camming surface 66 and is forced downward until the upper portion 44 of the tumbler is clear of wall 56. This position is shown in FIG. 6. When the tumbler is clear of wall 56, the actuating spring 16 urges the bolt member 18 rearward to the retracted position and the upper portion 44 of the tumbler again abuts wall 64. Therefore, to unlock bolt lock 10 it is only necessary to insert the proper key. No rotation of the key is necessary. It should be noted that in alternative embodiment of the invention, bolt lock 10 could incorporate a plurality of tumblers and tumbler biasing springs (not shown) which would be acted on by a corresponding plurality of camming surfaces, shown as 68 on key 48.

Various changes and modifications may be made in carrying out the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof. Insofar as these changes and modifications are within the purview of the appended claims they are to be considered as part of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A bolt lock comprising a housing, an interior chamber within said housing, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, at least one tumbler, a first stop means cooperating with said tumbler and adapted for an abutting relation therewith whereby said bolt member is maintained within said chamber and in a retracted position with respect thereto, a second stop means cooperating with said tumbler and adapted for an abutting relation therewith whereby upon said bolt member being pushed. forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is brought into abutting relation with said second stop and said bolt member is held in a forward position and means for removing said tumbler from said abutting relation with said second stop thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said tumbler then being biased into abutting relation with said first stop and said bolt member being returned to the retracted position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tumbler is carried by said bolt member and said chamber has a recessed portion therein defining said first and second stops.

3. The combination of claim 2 including means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said urging means are carried by said bolt member.

5. A bolt lock comprising a housing, an interior chamber within said housing, said chamber having a recessed portion therein defining a plurality of grooves, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, at least one tumbler carried by said bolt member, means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber whereby said tumbler is urged into one of said grooves and is biased against the wall of said groove by said biasing means thereby maintaining saidbiasing means within said chamber and upon said bolt member being pushed forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is urged into a second of said grooves and is biased against a wall of said second groove thereby holding said bolt member in a forward position and means for removing said tumbler from said second groove thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said tumbler then being urged into said first groove and held by said wall of said first groove.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said urging means are carried by said bolt member.

7. The combination of claim 6 including a tumbler guiding slot in said bolt member, said guiding slot being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bolt member and adapted for the linear movement of said tumbler therein.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein said removing means comprises an actuating key having an angled camming surface on the forward end thereof, a longitudinal channel in said bolt member adapted to receive said key and a slot in said tumbler adapted forthe passage of the forward end of said key therethrough, whereby upon inserting said key in said channel, said camming surface abuts an end of said slot in said tumbler and as said key is pushed forward through said slot, said camming surface moves said tumbler down said guiding slot and out of said second groove.

9. A bolt lock comprising a housing having a plurality of walls defining a chamber, said chamber having an open end, the opposite end of said chamber terminating at a first wall of said housing, said first wall having an aperture therein communicating with said chamber, a second of said walls having a recessed portion therein defining a plurality of grooves, the plane of said second wall being perpendicular to the plane of said first wall, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member having a rear portion and plunger carried by said rear portion and extending therefrom, said rear portion of said bolt member being slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, said plunger extending forward of said rear portion and through said aperture in said first wall, a guiding slot within said rear portion-of said bolt member, said guiding slot being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bolt member, a tumbler slidably mounted within said guiding slot, means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber whereby said tumbler is urged into one of said grooves and is biased against the wall of said groove by said biasing means thereby maintaining said bolt member within said chamber and upon said bolt member being pushed'forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is urged into a second of said grooves and is biased against a wall of said second groove thereby holding said bolt member in a forward position, said urging means being carried by said bolt member, and means for removing said tumbler from said second groove thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said removing means comprising an actuating key having an angled camming surface on the forward end thereof, a longitudinal channel in said bolt member adapted to receive said key and a slot in said tumbler adapted for the passage of the forward end of said key therethrough whereby upon inserting said key in said channel said camming surface abuts an end of said slot and as said key is pushed forward through said slot, said camming surface moves said tumbler down said guiding slot in said bolt member and out of said second groove, said tumbler then being urged into said first groove and held by said wall of said first groove.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said urging means is comprised of at least one spring member, said spring member being mounted in said rear portion of said bolt member and bearing against said tumbler.

11. The combination of claim 10 including a pair of cylindrical channels within said bolt member, said channels being adjacent and parallel said guiding slot and adapted to hold a pair of said urging springs therein.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein said biasing means is a coiled spring positioned about said plunger and bearing against said rear portion of said bolt member and said first wall of said housing. 

1. A bolt lock comprising a housing, an interior chamber within said housing, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, at least one tumbler, a first stop means cooperating with said tumbler and adapted for an abutting relation therewith whereby said bolt member is maintained within said chamber and in a retracted position with respect thereto, a second stop means cooperating with said tumbler and adapted for an abutting relation therewith whereby upon said bolt member being pushed forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is brought into abutting relation with said second stop and said bolt member is held in a forward position and means for removing said tumbler from said abutting relation with said second stop thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said tumbler then being biased into abutting relation with said first stop and said bolt member being returned to the retracted position.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tumbler is carried by said bolt member and said chamber has a recessed portion therein defining said first and second stops.
 3. The combination of claim 2 including means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said urging means are carried by said bolt member.
 5. A bolt lock comprising a housing, an interior chamber within said housing, said chamber having a recessed portion therein defining a plurality of grooves, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, at least one tumbler carried by said bolt member, means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber whereby said tumbler is urged into one of said grooves and is biased against the wall of said groove by said biasing means thereby maintaining said biasing means within said chamber and upon said bolt member being pushed forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is urged into a second of said grooves and is biased against a wall of said second groove thereby holding said bolt member in a forward position and means for removing said tumbler from said second groove thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said tumbler then being urged into said first groove and held by said wall of said first groove.
 6. The combination of claim 5 wherein said urging means are carried by said bolt member.
 7. The combination of claim 6 including a tumbler guiding slot in said bolt member, said guiding slot being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bolt member and adapted for the linear movement of said tumbler therein.
 8. The combination of claim 6 wherein said removing means comprises an actuating key having an angled camming surface on the forward end thereof, a longitudinal channel in said bolt member adapted to receive said key and a slot in said tumbler adapted for the passage of the forward end of said key therethrough, whereby upon inserting said key in said channel, said camming surface abuts an end of said slot in said tumbler and as said key is pushed forward through said slot, said camming surface moves said tumbler down said guiding slot and out of said second groove.
 9. A bolt lock comprising a housing having a plurality of walls defining a chamber, said chamber having an open end, the opposite end of said chamber terminating at a first wall of said housing, said first wall having an aperture therein communicating with said chamber, a second of said walls having a recessed portion therein defining a plurality of grooves, the plane of said second waLl being perpendicular to the plane of said first wall, biasing means within said chamber, a bolt member having a rear portion and plunger carried by said rear portion and extending therefrom, said rear portion of said bolt member being slidably mounted within said chamber and bearing against said biasing means, said plunger extending forward of said rear portion and through said aperture in said first wall, a guiding slot within said rear portion of said bolt member, said guiding slot being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said bolt member, a tumbler slidably mounted within said guiding slot, means for urging said tumbler into said recessed portion of said chamber whereby said tumbler is urged into one of said grooves and is biased against the wall of said groove by said biasing means thereby maintaining said bolt member within said chamber and upon said bolt member being pushed forward against said biasing means, said tumbler is urged into a second of said grooves and is biased against a wall of said second groove thereby holding said bolt member in a forward position, said urging means being carried by said bolt member, and means for removing said tumbler from said second groove thereby allowing said biasing means to force said bolt member rearward, said removing means comprising an actuating key having an angled camming surface on the forward end thereof, a longitudinal channel in said bolt member adapted to receive said key and a slot in said tumbler adapted for the passage of the forward end of said key therethrough whereby upon inserting said key in said channel said camming surface abuts an end of said slot and as said key is pushed forward through said slot, said camming surface moves said tumbler down said guiding slot in said bolt member and out of said second groove, said tumbler then being urged into said first groove and held by said wall of said first groove.
 10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said urging means is comprised of at least one spring member, said spring member being mounted in said rear portion of said bolt member and bearing against said tumbler.
 11. The combination of claim 10 including a pair of cylindrical channels within said bolt member, said channels being adjacent and parallel said guiding slot and adapted to hold a pair of said urging springs therein.
 12. The combination of claim 11 wherein said biasing means is a coiled spring positioned about said plunger and bearing against said rear portion of said bolt member and said first wall of said housing. 